The Complicated Problem that was Hermione Granger
by Firelily10
Summary: Draco Malfoy has a problem called Hermione Granger. He doesn't know whether or not to hate her or love her, kiss her or hex her. This story tells of the secret moments shared by Draco and Hermione, and how he deals with this intelligent, yet stubborn, Gryffindor. Please read all and review! Note: sorry if it's not much compared to my other stories. I haven't written one in a while


**To J, my loyal and talented friend. This was your favorite story, and so it's dedicated to you. Thanks for all the memories.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, locations, and/or events that might be mentioned in this story. No copyright intended. **

**The beginning and ending scenes in italicized lettering is from Deathly Hallows and the rest of the story mainly takes place in their Fourth year.**

_He watched her scream. He watched his aunt pull out that silver, gleaming blade and plunge it straight into the screaming girl's arm. The girl shrieked as Bellatrix carved something into her arm. From where he was standing, he couldn't quite see what it was exactly that his aunt was carving. But he didn't need to know what it was to know that it must've felt agonizingly painful. It was already painful enough to watch the girl writhe in pain on the blood stained floor, her screams ringing in his ears. _

_After what seemed like an eternity, his aunt stood up and turned to him. "Draco, take her outside" her shrill voice hissed at him. "She's of no further use to us." _

_He stood there, frozen. He knew what that meant. And then his aunt said the two words that made the burden on his heart grow unbearably heavy. "Finish her." _

**Many Years Earlier**

Draco Malfoy watched the bushy haired girl walk up to the stool to be sorted. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose, as if there was an awful smell in the air. His father had talked about this one. Muggle born, obviously. Hopefully she wasn't in Slytherin. Draco couldn't imagine having to be in the same house as the likes of her.

He watched her as the Sorting Hat muttered to itself, making the difficult decision. Her hands were clenching the sides of the stool so tightly that her knuckles were white. Beads of sweat poured down her forehead.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table as the girl excitedly scrambled over. Draco smirked. It was so obvious that someone like her would be put into Gryffindor.

But he was caught off guard when he saw her wink at him and give a friendly wave. "Good luck" she whispered as she passed him by, heading for her table. And to his surprise, he smiled back at her. He stared after her in wonder.

"Draco Malfoy" McGonagall called.

Draco shook his head and snapped into the present. Enough wondering about some muggle born Gryffindor. Now was his time to be Sorted. But right before climbing onto the stool, he caught the eye of the girl and smiled at her. He immediately regretted it when she giggled. Hopefully nobody in Slytherin saw that.

The hat had barely even touched the top of his head when it yelled out "SLYTHERIN!"

Draco smiled and strode proudly over to his table, where his fellow Slytherins were cheering him on. He took his seat and gave a satisfied smile. But then out of the corner of his eyes he spotted the girl. She looked somewhat disappointed. And then that planted the seed of doubt in his mind that maybe, just maybe, he might've liked to be in Gryffindor. But the doubt was quickly replaced by pride and confidence. He was in Slytherin. It was where he belonged.

XxXxXxXxXx

Why was she here?

Draco groaned as he walked onto the Quiditch pitch. Of all the days he chose to practice on his own, it had to be the day Hermione Granger was there with her pile of textbooks, studying. "What are you doing here Granger?" he yelled at her.

From up in the stands she glared at him. "It's none of your business ferret boy!" she yelled back. Ferret boy? He hated when she called him that.

"How dare you talk to me like that, mudblood!"

"How dare I?" she gasped, standing up. He clambered onto his broom and flew up to her, so that they were eye to eye. "You foul, pathetic little snake" she hissed at him. "You've got no right talking to me like that."

"Really?" he challenged. She took a step closer to him, her fists clenched.

"Yes really. And do you know what else I think? I think that you're just a sad, strange little-"

"What was that Granger?" he interrupted. "I didn't hear you!"

She stepped closer to him. "Don't play that game with me Malfoy!" She was so close now he could almost taste her lips. He stared at her, for a second, getting lost in her intelligent, brown eyes. Wow. He'd never noticed the way her curls fell so perfectly onto her shoulder like that, or the way her eyes twinkled even though she was glaring at him. Or the way that she bit her lip when she was angry. And how her cheeks burned red when-

"Stop staring at me Malfoy!" she snapped. Draco blinked stupidly.

"Wah...I…I wasn't…what are you talking about Granger" he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes you were!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at him. She opened her mouth to say something else, stepping even closer to him. "And I-" and then she screamed. He blinked, then looked down. She was falling over the edge of the railings that separated the elevated seats from the field, falling down…what was he doing just sitting there watching?

He leaned down the nose of his broom and dived, accelerating as fast as he dared. Hermione was screaming wildly as she came closer and closer to the ground. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to hit hard, but it never did. She opened one eye and saw Draco, a few inches away from her face.

He was breathing heavily, panting really. It took him a few seconds to realize that here he was, on his broomstick, with Hermione Granger in his arms. He looked at her sheepishly.

"You slick git!" she yelled suddenly, hitting him on the arm. "Let me down now!"

"What if I don't want to?" he said back, grinning. Hermione looked down. They were still elevated at least thirty feet above the ground. She grasped on to his robes tighter as she stared nervously at the ground. "Not afraid of heights, are we Granger?"

"What? No" she said, her cheeks growing red. "Just put me down right now Malfoy or I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"I…" but her voice drifted off. She sighed wearily. He grinned. He'd won. And deciding that he couldn't stay up there forever, he gently glided the broom down towards the ground. He felt her arms wrap more tightly around him. He couldn't help from smiling.

She saw him grinning and growled through clenched teeth "Don't you dare drop me."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

He set her gently onto the ground. She quickly stepped away from him, brushing off her clothes thoroughly as if he'd contaminated her with some kind of disease. "Happy now?" he asked.

"Very" she snapped, and walked away from him.

"What? No thank you?" he called after her. She turned around and rolled her eyes at him. But he thought that he saw a fraction of a smile on her face. And the weirdest part was…he felt good about it.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Draco groaned as he listened to Pansy Parkinson chatter away. This was a bloody nightmare. Of course he'd be spending the night listening to Pansy's petty complaints while the other Slytherins got to dance. That's what he got for taking Pansy to the ball! All night long, nonstop complaining and whining! He wanted to slam his head against the table.

Only half paying attention to what Pansy was saying, he glanced over at the dance floor where nearly all of the other students were having the times of their lives. And here he was, stuck with this pain in the arse. "Draco, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Pansy's shrill voice demanded. He glared at her angrily, his fists clenched. She was lucky that he'd left his wand upstairs. "I-" she started but then stopped and stared at something behind him. He turned and saw Weasley and Granger arguing, exiting the Great Hall. He didn't pay much attention to Weasley. It was Granger he was focused on. Her hair fell into delicate curls on her shoulders, so perfectly that it glowed. Her lips and cheeks were a rosy pink and her sparkling eyes were hidden beneath long lashes. Her dress flowed perfectly beneath her as she walked. Draco felt his jaw dropping.

"It must've taken her stylist hours to get her hair like that" Pansy sneered. Draco however, was still staring at the place where Hermione had just been a few seconds ago.

"Yah, would you excuse me for a second?" Draco muttered, getting up to leave before she could answer. He walked briskly out of the hall, only to see Weasley and Potter running hurriedly away from the scene. Hermione was sitting on the stairs, crying miserably to herself. Her tears were ruining her makeup, and her hair was starting to come undone. What had happened? A few minutes ago he'd been convinced that he was the most miserable person at the Yule Ball. Apparently he'd been proved wrong.

He walked over to her and sat down. "Tough night for you too, huh?" he asked her. She looked over to him with teary eyes.

"Just leave me alone Malfoy! I don't need you to make things any more worse than they already are" she said, rubbing one of her eyes.

"Aw, you don't mean it like that Granger" he replied.

"No, I'm dead serious Malfoy. Go away" she growled. Her eyes seemed to be literally shooting dagger at him. The fire burning in her eyes was beautiful, dancing as gracefully as she did.

"Hey, if that's what you want. Go ahead and go cry by yourself" he said with a shrug, getting up to leave. He felt her grab his sleeve.

"You can stay" she said reluctantly. He smiled and sat back down.

"So…was Weasley giving you a rough time?"

"You have no idea. He can be such thickhead" she muttered.

"Well, that's one thing we can agree on" Draco added. She looked at him funnily, almost suspiciously.

"What exactly are you trying to do here?" she asked slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you're up to something…I just haven't figure it out yet" she said.

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually, Miss Oh-So-Perfect" he said, leaning back casually.

"I am not perfect" she sighed. "You haven't failed to point that out."

Draco felt his heart sink, like a heavy burden had now been tied onto it. He looked away from her. "Well, I'm not perfect either" he muttered.

"Well, we already knew that" she said, punching him playfully. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow, and laughed along with her.

He became incredibly conscious of how close he was to her. His face was only centimeters away from her. He felt his heart racing faster than it did when he was flying. And something inside of him told him to go for it. He leaned in.

The kiss itself was beautiful. He felt like he did when he was flying. The feeling of adrenaline and happiness mixed together, the kind of feeling you get when the wind blows through your hair and you just can't help from laughing. Her lips tasted sweeter than sugar, and lighter than air. It was like he was falling into a meadow full of soft, sweet smelling flowers. Like something was forcing his heart to explode into a billion fireworks. And yet, it only lasted a moment.

She pulled away quickly, staring at him as if she'd been slapped. Uh oh. He knew immediately it had been a mistake. And yet, a mistake had never felt so good.

Hermione quickly got to her feet, and stormed up the stairs. He sat there, watching her leave, still in shock. Right before disappearing around the corner, she looked at him. There was something else beneath her anger. Something softer. But before he could figure it out, she was gone.

Draco put his head in his hands. He was now more confused than ever. And yet everything felt just right.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

He saw her enter the Three Broomsticks and put her coat on the rack. He whistled and motioned her over. She rolled her eyes at him, but still came over. He hoped she still wasn't mad at him about what had happened at the Yule Ball. But then again, when wasn't she mad at him?

"Here" he said, holding out a butterbeer to her.

"What's this supposed to be?" she asked, grabbing it roughly from his hands.

"An apology" he muttered.

"Well, that's a new term for you. Who taught you that?" she asked sarcastically. He sneered at her.

"No need to be rude" he said, gripping his butterbeer tighter.

"Look who's talking" she shot back.

He slammed his mug down on the counter. "Nobody asked for your commentary, mudblood" he growled at her. She glared at him. He immediately regretted it. There was a flash of movement and the next thing he knew, he was drenched in butterbeer. Hermione threw her empty mug down onto the floor with a clang, and turned on her heels swiftly. He groaned as he watched her walk out of the pub.

The bartender came over to him and waved her wand, and the mess instantly vanished. "Well, that looked like it went well" she said to him, handing him another butterbeer. "It's on the house. That was a pretty rough one buddy."

"Cheers" he said, raising his mug and drinking deeply from it. He sighed, wiping off his mouth. When would things ever go right with Granger?

XxXxXxXxXx

It was astounding to Draco how women could make this wild assumptions. Viktor Krum. Of all the people, it had to be Viktor Krum. He'd sent her a letter, an anonymously signed letter, and she assumed that the hollow headed Quiditch star had sent it to her? It'd been over a year since she'd even seen him! And that pumpkin brain probably couldn't have written a few words, much less an entire letter.

He stared at her from across the Great Hall as she babbled to Potter and Weasley about her precious Viktor, the letter clutched in her hands. He stabbed his fork into the wooden table hard, gripping its handle tightly. He watched her glance at him and stop. She stared at him for a moment, then quieted. She knew.

He looked away from her. He'd never speak to her again, lest the letter come up. What would she think? What would she say?

Draco slammed his head onto the table, straight into his porridge. Hermione Granger had proven to be his greatest and most complicated problem. He didn't know whether to hate her or love her, to kiss her or punch her, to sweep her off her feet or yell at her to get away from him. His head hurt like crazy, all because of her. All because of Hermione Granger.

**Present Day**

_Draco walked over to Granger, who was lying limp on the floor, his aunt's words still ringing in his ears. That's when he saw the bloody word carved into her pale arm. Mudblood. He heard the word echoing a thousand times in his mind, the thousand times he'd said it to her. The pain in his chest sharpened as he stared at the word. It seemed to mock him. He looked away. _

_Then, half dragging, half carrying her, he took the girl to the back door, leading outside. Right before slamming it shut behind him, he heard his aunt shout at Wormtail to bring her the goblin. _

_He set Granger on the ground gently. She was barely moving. He watched the tears stream down her now ghostly white face. He closed his eyes and took out his wand. He wouldn't dare watch himself do this. His hand was trembling even harder than she was as he pointed it at her. This was far much worse than that night at the Astronomy Tower last year. Now he was barely able to control his chest from heaving up and down heavily as he tried to breathe. _

"_Draco."_

_He opened his eyes and stared at the figure below him. She'd said his name. Not Malfoy, not ferret, just Draco. He was surprised at the softness in her voice. It was the first time she'd spoken to him without any traces of hatred or anger. "Please…don't make it hurt" she whispered. _

_He was frozen again. He knew he couldn't go back through that door again unless Hermione Granger was dead. But that door was the only place he could go, his only choice…right? He stared into her intelligent brown eyes. His mind flashed back to their fourth year, outside the Great Hall. He remembered her well. She'd been wearing a pink dress, with ruffles at the bottom. Her hair had been in delicate curls, her lips had been a soft pink, and her eyes had been sparkling like the stars. Then he looked at her again, in the present, as she looked up at him with teary eyes, her hair a mess, and blood covering her arm. _

_He felt the wand drop out of his hand. Inside the house, he heard a fight break out, Potter and Weasley shouting. They were making their escape. He looked at Granger a moment longer. Now he saw the girl he used to bring down, the girl he'd watch cry alone in the corridors, the girl he'd secretly wondered about every day for seven years, and the girl who he now could not bear to hurt ever again. Not this time. _

_Without taking the time to think, Draco quickly pulled Hermione to her feet. "What are you doing?" she asked, confused. _

"_Hurry or they'll leave without you" he said, pushing the door open and forcing her through it. He saw Potter, Weasley, and the house elf Dobby standing at one end of the room, his mother and aunt on the other. His father was slumped up against the wall, unconscious. The boys had their wands in their hands. They must've grabbed them from the table where Draco had last set them. Draco saw Potter grab for the elf's hand. They were about to disapparated. "Go!" he shouted, pushing Hermione at them. He felt her pull him along. _

_Everything happened in an instant. A sharp pain in his chest. Then the feeling of all the air being squeezed out of his lungs as they disapparated. And then, they were standing on a beach. No, falling on a beach. He felt himself falling. _

_Someone screamed. Then Hermione was at his side, crying. Why was she panicking? They'd gotten out, hadn't they? He'd gotten her safe and away. He looked down at where she was staring and realized that the same couldn't be said for him. Lodged in his chest was his aunt's silver dagger, stained with blood. _

"_You're being…overemotional Granger" he murmured, wiping away one of her tears._

"_Shut up…just…just stay still and I'll fix you" she stuttered, her voice shaking uncontrollably. She grabbed a wand and started muttering an incantation, but he put his hand on hers and lowered the wand, shaking his head. _

"_Not this time."_

_Then he pulled his left sleeve and held it out his arm to her. "Get rid of it" he pleaded. She muttered something and pointed the wand. The Dark Mark disappeared. He smiled. He felt a little better. _

"_There…all better now" she whimpered._

"_Yes, all better now" Draco said softly, touching her face gently. She smiled, but it was filled with sadness. _

"_Hey," he said, gently lifting her chin up. "You're Hermione Granger…you'll be alright." _

_She shook her head. "But there's no guide or spell or textbook that can change…this" she sobbed._

"_I'm afraid not" Draco said softly. He felt her hand grasp his own tightly. _

"_Don't let go" she said. Her voice already sounded distant. He smiled up at her._

"_Wouldn't dream of it." _

_He felt her lips touch on his gently. A fire in his chest erupted. He felt his weak heart now beating a thousand times faster than before, a thousand times more alive…a thousand times more in love. _


End file.
